ARCHETYPES
English I
OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON:
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I can discuss the
importance of
archetypes within
literature and culture.
I can identify and
analyze archetypes and
use them to discern
meaning in literature.
What Is An Archetype?

Archetypes are recurring patterns
(plot structures, symbols, character
types, themes) that occur in
mythology, religion, and stories
across cultures and time periods.
What Is An Archetype?
They embody universal meanings and
basic human experiences and can evoke
unconscious responses in a reader.
 They help us to understand common
traits we share with others outside our
own culture and to interpret situations
and characters that might be quite
different from ourselves otherwise.

Character Archetypes
The Hero
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Man/woman with great strength and
courage
Known for having honorable
purposes
Willing to risk life for the good of all
Variations of the hero figure include
the “orphaned” hero
Often leaves the familiar to enter a
new, unfamiliar, challenging world,
and then returns to his/her
“ordinary” world
Return to “ordinary” world often
leads to destructive change
Character Archetypes
Underdog: Characters who are
usually in the wrong place at the
wrong time, but who usually win
something of value in the end.
Character Archetypes
The Innocent: trusts in faith and optimism, has
exceptionally high ideals and aspirations, and a
belief in hard work and doing the right thing
Character Archetypes
The Villain: the male or
female personification of evil.
The antagonist who truly
personifies evil. The villain's
malice is limitless and rarely
is the villain reformed.
Character Archetypes
The Terrible Mother/The
Woman as Temptress: A woman
to whom the protagonist is
attracted and who ultimately
brings about his downfall
Character Archetypes
The Damsel in Distress: A vulnerable woman
who must be rescued by the hero.
Character Archetypes
The Spiritual
Earth
Mother/The
Good Mother:
symbolic of
abundance and
fertility; offers
spiritual/
emotional
nourishment
Character Archetypes
The Soul Mate: incarnation of inspiration
and spiritual fulfillment
Character Archetypes
Loyal Retainers
 Individuals
somewhat like
servants who are
heroic themselves
 Duty is to protect
the hero and reflect
his/her nobility
Character Archetypes
The Giant/Monster/Ogre:
a character who is lonely
(because they are
shunned), with
uncontrolled rage or
strength or violence, and
a lot of times they fall in
love with and protect a
beautiful woman.
Sometimes monsters must
be outwitted by heroes
Archetypal Settings and Symbols
Water: the mystery of
creation; the life cycle (birthdeath-resurrection);
purification and redemption
The Sea: the mother
of all life; death and
rebirth; the
unconscious
Archetypal Settings and Symbols
The Whirlpool:
symbolizes the
destructive
power of nature
and fate
Archetypal Settings and Symbols
The Underworld: a place of death; represents
an encounter with the dark side of the self
Archetypal Settings and Symbols
Tree: inexhaustible life due to its growth, proliferation,
and generative and regenerative processes; wisdom
Archetypal Settings and Symbols
Islands: remoteness from society and the island’s
isolation from all other societies; helps insulate people
from other cultures so that their culture remains true to
itself; blocks outside influences
Color Archetypes
Red: blood, sacrifice, passion; disorder; violence
Color Archetypes
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Green: in a
positive context –
growth; sensation;
hope; fertility; in a
negative context –
death and decay
Color Archetypes
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Blue: highly positive – associated with
truth, religious feeling, security, spiritual
purity
Color Archetypes
Black: chaos, mystery, the unknown; death; evil;
the unconscious
Color Archetypes
White: positive aspects –
light, purity, innocence;
negative aspects – death,
terror, the supernatural
Color Archetypes
Purple: magical
forces, power over
obstacles, royalty,
nobility, spirituality,
ceremony,
transformation,
wisdom
Situational Archetypes
The Task: a superhuman deed that must be
performed to save the kingdom, win the fair
lady, or identify the hero so that he may
assume his rightful position
Situational Archetypes
Supernatural Intervention: The gods intervene
on the side of the hero (or, sometimes, against
him)
Situational Archetypes
The Fall: a descent from
a higher to a lower
state of being, from
innocence and bliss to
loss–often accompanied
by an expulsion from
paradise
Situational Archetypes
The Battle Between Good and Evil: Does this one
really require a definition? – Shows man’s eternal
optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing
over evil despite great odds
Situational Archetypes
The Ritual:
Ceremonies that
mark the rite of
passage into
another state.
 Sacrificial
 Initiation
 Coming
of Age